Two Additional Local Private Schools Cleared to Reopen Doors for Pre-K-2nd Grade Students

Two more local schools have received waivers allowing them to reopen pre-K through 2nd-grade classes, according to the city’s website.

Chandler and Sequoyah schools can now open to pre-K-second grade students.

Last week High Point Academy also received a waiver to allow those students to return.

“Your waiver application has been approved by both the Pasadena Public Health Department and the California Department of Public Health. This waiver allows in-person instruction for grades preK-2nd (grade) at your institution, as applicable, in compliance with your application and reopening plan as submitted,” stated the notice.

The announcement came on the heels of dozens of letters written by local residents letters to the City Council imploring the council to open schools, although the decision is not in the City Council’s purview.

“The children in Pasadena need to get back to school,” said Tracy Lewis. “Saying that we are protecting our population from COVID by keeping children out of school is laughable. Our children are suffering so much intellectually, socially, and psychologically by not being in school with their peers.”

However, the city is not working to keep schools closed. Instead, only five local schools have applied for waivers, according to city Health Director Dr. Ying-Ying Goh.

According to the city’s website, in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) there are 17 schools eligible to submit waivers. It was not immediately known how many private schools are eligible. Goh said on Monday more than 40 schools are eligible for waivers.

That number could not be verified Tuesday morning.

All three schools could be forced to close doors again in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.

On Monday, Goh said two other schools have also submitted waivers. Those schools were not identified.

In Pasadena, school waiver application components have been posted for two months in order to allow schools to prepare for reopening. Health Department officials have been visiting local schools to provide hands-on consulting.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger to allow elementary schools to begin applying for waivers needed to reopen grades preK-2nd grade in local schools, prioritizing schools with high numbers of low-income students.

The county is still listed in the state’s highest risk category for COVID-19 under its four-tier economic recovery roadmap. The county remains in the “purple”’ tier, signifying continued widespread transmission of the virus locally.

Contract talks between the PUSD and the union representing its teachers, United Teachers of Pasadena, are ongoing. The district does not expect to open schools for in-person instruction this year.